


Take a Deep Breath, Everything Will Be Okay

by Leonardo_Charles_BlueWood_21



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, BIG OOF, Basically just the aftermath of their parents disappearance, Crying, Fighting, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, It goes from happy to sad to OUCH MY HEART AND SOUL to it's gonna be okay, It just kinda got away from me and now we have this, KAI'S A GOOD BIG BROTHER, Kinda?, Lots of Crying, My heart kinda hurts now after editing :'), No beta we die like Garmadon, Not sure how to tag this one lol, Nothing too crazy though lol XD, They'll be okay, They're like 12 and 13 here :'), Wrote all that fluff in the last fic and then this happened LOL, do not copy to another site, he's trying very hard, sibling angst, so fair warning lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:42:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26396584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leonardo_Charles_BlueWood_21/pseuds/Leonardo_Charles_BlueWood_21
Summary: Kai and Nya are siblings, and best friends. They love each other and would move mountains for one another, but their relationship isn't free of turmoil or misunderstanding.orKai and Nya's parents "leave" and they figure stuff out
Relationships: Kai & Nya (Ninjago)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 119





	Take a Deep Breath, Everything Will Be Okay

For as long as Nya could remember, Kai had been the one looking out for her. 

It wasn’t as though their parents were never there, quite the contrary really, they were kind people, who she loved very dearly, and they loved her in return… but when she had nightmares at night, Kai was always the one checking under her bed, and vowing to fight any monsters that dared lurk underneath. 

Part of that was due to the fact that they shared a room, so he was always closer, and was able to notice and be at her side almost immediately, whereas their parents were unable, being in the other room. 

But whatever the case, Kai was the one Nya had always cried to when she’d tripped and scraped her knee, and he was the one to carry her on his back all the way back into the house so they could find a bandaid. 

When their father started to teach Kai blacksmithing, Nya was right there with him, watching and encouraging him when he got frustrated that they didn’t turn out right. And when the village boys wouldn’t let Nya play with them just because she was a girl, Kai was right there next to her, holding her hand as they marched away from them, declaring that they weren’t worth his time if she couldn’t be there too. Who needed friends anyway? They had each other and that was enough. 

As Nya grew older, they grew closer, and Kai became, not only her older brother, but her best friend as well. They would go off on adventures in the forests and fields, welding sticks as weapons, hunting treasure, and fighting off whatever villain their minds concocted for the day, then fall asleep, whispering secrets to one another under the covers at night. 

When Nya got big enough to hold a hammer, she joined Kai in the smithing lessons, and he ruffled her hair fondly when she progressed just as fast as him, smiling even when she surpassed him in skill, and bragging about how amazing his little sister was to anyone would listen, making her blush pink. 

Their parents would tuck them in at night and they’d always wait until they’d close the door before they were giggling as Nya climbed into Kai’s bed and they pulled the blankets over their heads. 

  
  
  


Their parents vanished, and their relationship changed. 

It was hard for it not to, honestly, though Nya didn’t fully understand it at the time. Kai worked a lot harder and didn’t have any much extra time to spend with her, while he was trying to keep the shop running. 

She crawled into bed next to him after the second week of their absence and he wrapped his arms around her and held her as she cried. 

“Are-are they ever gonna come back?” she had asked, trembling. 

“I don’t know,” he said after a moment of quiet. His arms tightened around her. “But I promise, Nya, I promise I’m not going anywhere. No matter what happens, I’m going to take care of you.” 

  
  
  


The weeks passed, and Kai worked in the forges most of the day, speaking with customers and heading into town to trade and pick up their food, and pick up odd jobs around the area. 

By the time the second month had passed, Nya was starting to think they were never coming back. 

Part of her wanted to look for them, part of her was afraid to. Their days were spent in uncertainty, but Kai continued on as though nothing had changed. She hadn’t even seen him cry. 

At first, she thought it was because he didn’t care about them being gone, and she resented him for being so calm about it. Most days ended in a shouting match, Nya storming into their shared bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her, and crying until she fell asleep. 

Her heart ached. She hated fighting with her brother, she missed her parents, missed what they used to have, hated Kai for being so _unaffected_ by what was happening to them. 

For the longest time she wasn’t sure if he even actually slept in their room. He was usually gone by the time she woke up in the morning, and she would be asleep before he came in, if he did at all. 

Things were tense, and she wasn’t sure how to fix it; wasn’t even sure if she _wanted_ to fix it. She felt so angry, and frustrated, and _afraid_. She found herself reexamining the days, and months before their parents had disappeared, wondering if she’d done something to make them leave. 

In the end she knew she could never really know. But knowing that didn’t erase the hurt she felt. 

  
  
  


She was sitting on her bed, holding the sketched family portrait that she usually kept tucked under her pillow, when Kai entered the room. She only met his eyes for a moment before dropping her head to look at the paper in her hands. 

“I’m heading into town,” he told her, picking up the satchel that lay at the foot of his bed, across the room from her. “I’ll be back later, okay?” 

She didn’t respond, but he seemed to expect that, which caused an unexpected stab of guilt in her chest. She shoved it away, angrily and scowled down at the sketch. 

Kai hesitated, when he’d reached the door. She could feel his eyes on her, but she didn’t look up, keeping her eyes steadfastly on the paper in hands. After another moment, he left. 

Nya lay down on her side, picture clutched to her chest, and stared at the wall, feeling empty. 

  
  
  


Things changed again when she found Kai sitting on the kitchen floor one night, his head in his hands. 

He’d been out late again, and she’d fallen asleep waiting for him to get back after another shouting match. She woke up some time after, not sure how long she’d been out, but it had been long enough that it was completely pitch black outside. 

A small flicker of the light of a candle from underneath the door caught her attention, and she watched it for a moment, before slipping out from under the covers. She carefully padded out of the bedroom, opening the door soundlessly, and carefully walking to the kitchen, where the candlelight was originating from. 

When Kai came into sight, she stopped abruptly, taking a step back, out of view from the kitchen entrance, heart skipping a beat in her chest. 

It was another moment before she was able to steady herself enough to carefully peek around the doorframe, keeping as much of herself out of sight as she could as she looked at her big brother, who was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. He was breathing shakily, and… crying. 

Her eyes widened, the ache in her chest sharpening and pressing against her heart. 

The sounds he made were muffled and quiet; barely-there intakes of shuddering breaths. It took her a moment to realize that he was trying to be quiet so he didn’t wake her up. His hands clutched his hair tightly on his next exhale, then he wiped at the tears harshly, hands shaking. 

She thought he hadn’t... 

Nya suddenly wondered how many times he’d actually cried, when she wasn’t there. 

His next inhale was a lot sharper and he ran his fingers through his hair, shoulders heaving, even as he barely made a sound. 

“Why did you _leave?!”_ his fist hit the wall with an abrupt dull thud on the last word, making her jump and sink back slightly. He pressed the same hand to his mouth to muffle his next sob, body shaking even more. 

Her heart lodged in her throat, and all her anger fizzled out, leaving a gaping empty pit in her chest and stomach. 

She backed away from the kitchen, and padded back into their dark bedroom, closing the door soundlessly behind her, and stumbling slightly on the way to her bed before slipping back under the covers, pulling them over her head. 

She laid awake until Kai came into the room a little while later, and listened to his quiet footsteps and slightly uneven breathing as he crawled into bed. A little while later his shuddering exhales evened out and steadied, signaling to her that he had fallen asleep, but she still felt wide awake. 

She couldn’t help but think about how Kai had started running the blacksmith shop, despite not really liking working in the forges, and about the way he headed into town to talk to potential customers, and haggle over food every week, even though he hated grocery shopping, and didn’t have the patience to haggle with people. The way he had been looking so tired over the past few months, but still made sure supper was ready at the end of every day, and breakfast ready in the morning. She had just been too angry and absorbed in her own hurt and self-pity to notice the toll it was taking on him. 

He had been hurting just as much as she had, but was trying to be strong for her, and keep their lives from falling apart, and all while she had been hating him, and ignoring him, and yelling at him, accusing him of not caring… 

She realized, with a stab of guilt, that she didn’t even know where he went every night after supper. 

Nya blinked back the tears, and squeezed her eyes shut, rolling over and hiding her face in her pillow, hands clenched in her blanket. 

It took her a long time to fall asleep. 

  
  
  


Kai was already gone by the time she woke up, as always, and breakfast was waiting for her on the table. It was Thursday, which meant Kai would be out in town all day, and she would have enough time to enact her plan. 

She ate her breakfast, washed the dishes, took a deep breath…

Then headed to the forge. 

  
  
  


There were a few batches of weapons in progress, and she spent most of the day working on them. Sword making was a slow process that could take up a month to complete at times. It was why Kai had such trouble with it, being stuck inside for a month all day long wasn’t really his speed. Nya found she didn’t mind it so much though. It was interesting and, while it was hard work, she’d enjoyed the days spent in the forges with her family. 

She made a lot of progress, and was feeling pretty proud of how they were turning out. There was still a lot to do, but she knew what she was committing to, and she wasn’t going to back out now. 

She started on supper after washing the soot and sweat off her face and hands, arms and back aching from the hours spent working with their father’s heavy tools. The evening air was much chillier compared to the near stifling forge’s heat, and she shivered a little.

She was just finishing up with supper when Kai opened the door. 

He didn’t notice her at first, leaning on the wall for support as he reached down to slip his shoes off. There was a tired slump to his shoulders, and a slowness in the way he moved, that made her think he was just barely holding himself together. 

When he glanced up, and his eyes landed on her, he froze, shoe halfway off his foot, looking almost startled to see her.

She felt a little nervous suddenly, and shifted on her feet slightly, tangling her fingers together and fiddling with them a little. “I uh… I made supper.” 

“Oh,” said Kai, after a moment of silence. He still didn’t move. 

There was another minute of silence, then they both spoke at once. 

“Kai, I--” 

“Nya, I’m--” 

They both stopped. 

Nya laughed a little. “You first,” she said with a hesitant smile. 

He only returned it for a moment before it dropped and his eyes flicked to the floor. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, straightening up, but keeping his head down. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you yesterday. I--”

“No!” she rushed, throwing up her hands in a panic to stop him, and he blinked at her, his mouth snapping shut, startled. She sighed, shoulders slumping and rubbed her arm, feeling awkward. “I’m the one who shouldn’t have got angry like that. Who would’ve thought, huh?” she laughed a little feebly. “Me being the hothead instead of you.” Her joke fell a little flat and she looked down at the ground. 

“I’m sorry, Kai. You’ve been trying really hard to keep things together for both of us, and I know it’s been really hard, and I’ve only been making it harder.” 

“No,” Kai said, looking pained. “Nya you’re not--” 

“I was,” she said with finality, stopping him with a glare that was more aimed at herself, than at him. She shook her head, pusing her anger aside, then looked at him determinedly. “But I’m going to do better now. I know you want to take care of me, but you don’t have to do all this by yourself. We have each other’s backs, right?” she gave him a small smile, before dropping her eyes again and continuing. “We’re all we have left, Kai,” she said, her vision blurring slightly from the unexpected hot tears. “I don’t want to lose you too.” 

“Nya,” she heard him say her name, pained and endlessly concerned, and then she was enveloped in his warm embrace. 

She fell forward, leaning into him, her entire plan falling apart along with herself in his arms. She was supposed to be the one comforting _him_ , and here she was, crying again. 

“I just h-hate f-fighting with you,” she sobbed, pressing her face into his shoulder and clinging to him tightly. 

“It’s okay,” he told her softly, his hand stroking her hair soothingly, and holding on to her steadily. “You’re okay.” 

“I miss you,” she told him shakily, hiccuping. “I miss you. You’re right here, and I _miss you_.” 

Kai’s arms tightened around her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.” 

“No!” she exclaimed angrily, pulling away, and wiping furiously at her eyes so she could clear them enough to fix him in a fiery glare. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for!” The tears were blurring her vision again, but she just ignored them this time, and let them stream down her cheeks as she spoke. “I’m the one who’s sorry! I kept hating you because you were fine, and they were gone. But you’re _not_ fine, and I’m not fine, and e-everything’s a m- _mess_.” She pressed the palms of her hands against her eyes, shoulders shaking as she cried. 

“I’m so sorry, Kai,” she hiccuped as she wiped at her tears helplessly. “For not n-noticing sooner, and for yelling at you, and being mad. I’m not mad at you, I just--I just _miss them_ , and t-they aren’t coming back.” Her voice dropped into a whisper as she spoke the last words. 

Neither of them had said it out loud up till that point, but they knew. And now that it was out in the open, Nya wasn’t sure if she felt better or worse. 

“We’re a team,” she told him, trembling. “We look after each other. I have to make sure you’re okay b-because, if--if you’re looking out for me, and-and mom and dad are g-gone, then--” her tears were hot in her eyes and cold on her cheeks. “Then who’s taking care of you?” 

There was silence for a moment, only filled by Nya’s hiccups and shaky breathing. 

“It’s not your job to look after me, Nya,” Kai’s quiet voice came, breaking the silence, and making her look up. He offered her a wry smile. “I’m the big brother. It’s _my_ job to look after _you_. You don’t need to take care of me, I can take care of both of us.” 

Nya was already shaking her head. “No,” she hiccuped. “You shouldn’t h-have to do all this alone. You h-hate working in the forge, and-and you’re terrible at cooking.” 

“Gee, thanks, sis,” Kai huffed. He still had that wry smile, but he looked so _sad_ . All she wanted to do was hug him again, and make him trust her enough to know that he could cry around her, and that she wouldn’t think any less of him. He needed to know that it was okay if he couldn’t do anything, and that she would _help_ him if he just let her, but she didn’t know how to make him understand. She hated how strained their relationship had become, and in a moment of bright fury, she hated their parents for leaving and making it happen. But then the anger just drained out and she was left feeling empty and exhausted. 

She stood, arms hanging limply at her sides and staring down at the ground, sniffling. 

The evening certainly hadn’t gone as planned. Crying had not been on her agenda, and now she was feeling a little embarrassed and a little silly, but mostly just tired. And she still hadn’t made any progress at all. Kai was still just standing there, looking at her like he thought he’d done something wrong. 

“I’m sorry, Nya,” he said quietly, like it was his fault, looking down at his feet. “You shouldn’t have to be worrying about this.” 

She stared at him incredulously. He’d missed the whole point! 

“No!” she yelled, and pushed her hands against his chest, shoving him, and making him stumble back slightly. He looked startled, and hurt, but she ignored it. “You’re not getting it! _You_ shouldn’t have to be worrying about this! You’re my big brother! Not my dad! You shouldn’t have to run the forge, or go grocery shopping by yourself, or-or,” she wiped furiously at her eyes. 

“I have to,” he whispered, making her look up at him. He was looking at her and his eyes were shinier with the beginnings of tears in them. “I don’t want you to have to--” 

“ _Stop!_ ” she screamed at him, pounding on his chest. “This isn’t your job!” 

“Yes it is!” he yelled back, catching her wrists. “I’m your big brother! It’s my job to make sure you’re okay!” 

“When I fall over! Not when we need money for food! You shouldn’t have to do that!” 

“They’re gone, Nya!” he screamed. “What am I supposed to do?!” 

“Let me _help you!_ ” she screamed right back, tearing her arms away. “Stop trying to do it yourself, you _can’t!”_

They stood across from each other, tense. Nya clenched her fists even as they shook and tried to get her breathing under control, heart pounding wildly and her face feeling hot. 

Kai was looking at her with a broken expression that just tore into her already shredded heart. 

“You’re right,” he said faintly. He was trembling and tears were escaping as he blinked, but he didn’t even seem to notice. “I can’t do this.” The words came out and he sucked in a shuddering breath, dropping his eyes and his hand coming up to rake through his hair, making it stick up in even more directions. His exhale was ragged and broken and his next inhale even worse. He tried to swallow the sound down, but only ended up choking on it and making it worse. 

Nya watched her big brother fall apart right in front of her. 

“I’m so sorry, Nya,” he was barely able to say through his shuddering, horrible sounding breaths. “I’m so sorry.” He hunched for a moment, and his shaking legs seemed to give out beneath him, making him sit down hard onto the floor. “I’m sorry I can’t do this for you,” he choked out. “I’m sorry I’m not--” 

She hurled herself at him before he could finish his stupid, _stupid_ apologies, and wrapped her arms around his shaking form tightly, hands fisting in the meterial of the back of his shirt as she buried her face in his shoulder. 

“Stop,” she told him furiously. “Stop apologizing.” 

He was still holding back his sobs, but there were still there, as he hunched over her, tears wetting the fabric of her shirt as he pressed his face into her shoulder, shaking apart horribly as he clung to her. 

“None of this is your fault,” she told him, ignoring her own tears. “You’re doing your best. I just--I don’t want you to have to do it alone. I want to help you. We’re supposed to be a team. Please _let me help you_.” 

Kai sobbed, sounding so exhausted, his arms trembling so badly he could hardly hold on to her. 

“You--y-you shouldn’t have t-to w-worry about th-this,” Kai sobbed, his voice muffled in her shirt. 

“Neither should you,” Nya said ferociously, arms tightening around him. 

“I hate th-them,” Kai shuddered, sucking in a scratchy breath, grip tightening, body tensing. “I h- _hate_ them.” 

Tears stung her eyes again and she just hugged him tighter, hiding her face in his shoulder, wondering how she possibly could have thought he didn’t care. 

“You don’t have to do all this alone, Kai,” she whispered. “You might be my big brother, but we’re a team, remember?” she sniffled a little. “You told me that. You said no matter what happened we’d be there for each other. So-so let me be there for you too. Let me help.” 

“I don’t--I d-don’t want you to ha-have to w-worry.” 

“I worry about you anyways.” 

He gave a choked sound that might’ve been a laugh, but it was impossible to really tell. 

“I’m sorry for y-yelling at you,” he whispered after a moment. 

“It’s okay,” Nya told him. “I’m sorry too.” 

They sat there on the floor together until Kai’s shaking had subsided and his breathing came a little easier. Nya’s limbs were going a little numb, and dinner was probably cold, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. 

“Thanks for making supper,” Kai mumbled into the quiet.

“We’ll probably have to warm it up again,” Nya said. 

“That’s okay.” 

“Are _you_ okay?” 

Kai laughed a little, and pulled away, wiping at his cheeks and eyes. “Yeah,” he offered her a small, tired smile. “I’m okay. You?” 

“Yeah. Me too.” She gave a small smile back. She felt exhausted and her throat ached uncomfortably, but she felt… lighter. 

Kai scrubbed at his face tiredly and yawned. Nya followed suit a moment later, yawning wide enough to make her eyes water. 

“Food, then bed,” Kai decided, with a slightly more real smile. 

“Mm, yeah,” Nya nodded, rubbing her eyes. “Okay.” 

  
  
  


They ended up eating the food cold, but it was still pretty tasty and only a little burned. Nya wasn’t an amazing cook, but she was still slightly better than Kai. They’d get better. 

They left the dishes to deal with the next day and headed to their room. Kai looked surprised when she climbed into his bed and settled down next to him, but relaxed almost immediately, looking relieved. He wrapped his arms around her and Nya snuggled against him until they were both comfy and then closed her eyes. 

She’d really missed this. 

“Good night, Nya,” Kai said softly. 

“I love you,” she said back. 

She felt Kai swallow unsteadily before pressing his face into his hair and responding with a muffled: “I love you too.” 

Satisfied, Nya let herself fall asleep in her brother's arms. 

  
  
  


He was gone when she woke up, the blankets tucked around her keeping her warm and comfy. He probably tucked her in before he left and she smiled a little at the thought. 

Her throat still ached a little from all of the crying the night before, so she slipped out of the tangle of blankets and padded off to the kitchen to get a drink of water. 

She’d just finished her cup when Kai burst in through the door, stumbling to a stop when his eyes landed on her sitting on the counter. 

They stared at each other, Nya startled, and Kai looked at her in something that resembled shock. 

“You--did you…” he was breathing hard like he’d run all the way from the forge, looking like he might start crying again, and Nya was very confused for a moment until she remembered the previous day that she had spent in the forge. 

“I told you,” she said, without moving from her spot on the counter, raising her chin defiantly. “I can help.” 

He stared at her for a moment before weakly asking: “When did you even…?” 

“Yesterday,” she said, looking down at her empty cup. “While you were gone.” She looked up again, meeting his eyes. “You hate working in the forge.” 

He really looked like he was going to cry again. 

Nya nibbled on her lip for a moment before setting her cup down beside her and hoping off the counter. “Come on,” she said walking over to him, then grabbing his hand and gently pulling him over to the kitchen table. “Today is your day off.” 

His resistance was feeble. “Nya,” he tried, weakly. “I can’t--” 

“Shush,” she said firmly. “No talking on your day off.” 

That made him laugh, at least a little. “I need to go pick up food today, Nya,” he told her, making her pause. 

She thought about that for a moment. They did need food… and she was still too small to go by herself. The hard truth was that they still needed to do these things, and Kai had to be the one to do a lot of it. That didn’t mean that she couldn’t help though. 

“Fine,” she decided, releasing his hand and heading to their room to grab her coat and the satchel. “But I’m coming with you.” 

He didn’t protest, or at least, she didn’t hear him if he did, since she was already in their room grabbing the items she came for. She nabbed Kai’s coat from where it was dropped in a corner, on her way out. 

When she got back, Kai was still standing in the middle of the kitchen, shifting on his feet slightly, and looking a little lost. 

Nya tossed him his coat, which he just barely caught, and slipped her own coat on before slinging the satchel over her shoulder. “Ready to go?” 

There was a moment in which he just stared at her, then he was stepping forward and enveloping her in a hug. 

Nya hugged him back, and exhaled, relaxing into the embrace. She’d really missed hugging him. 

“Thanks, Nya,” he said thickly. 

She smiled, pressing her face into his shoulder and patting him on the back. “I’ve got your back, bro. We look out for each other, right?” 

He laughed a little. “Right.” Then pulled away, and gave her a sincere smile that morphed into a smirk. “I’m still in charge though.” 

Nya scoffed, pushing him away, and laughing. “Sure, Kai.” 

“I _am_ the older sibling,” he said as they headed out the door. “Respect my authority.” 

“What authority?” she teased back. 

“Brat,” he said, ruffling her hair fondly. 

“Dork,” she said back, pushing his hand away, then racing ahead of him. 

“Hey!” he laughed, giving chase down the dirt road. “Wait up!” 

“Keep up, old man!” 

“I am literally a year older than you!” 

“ _Old man!_ ” 

  
  
  
  


Yeah. 

They’d be okay.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this when I woke up and lemme tell ya... Nothing better than writing emotionally charged things first thing in the morning! XD 
> 
> Drop me a comment if this low-key crushed your heart while reading it like it did mine while writing :')


End file.
